I woke up again at some point in the evening to find Arm, Pol, and Chay loudly playing games, their shouts filling the room. I sat up blearily and saw them sprawled out on the floor with their phones before they looked up to wave at me guiltily.
“You’re awake? Let’s get dinner,” Arm said. I nodded and got up to wash my face in the bathroom, then came back to wait for them to finish their game so we could head out together as a group.
“Porsche… You’re feeling better now, yes?” It was Mr. Korn.
I hurriedly turned to greet him with a wai gesture. “Yes, I’m much better now, sir,” I replied.
“Remember to rest up. Porchay, do look after your brother,” Mr. Korn said as he fondly ruffled my little brother’s hair.
“What’s for dinner, Father?” came a loud voice from the front door. We all turned to look at the newcomer.
“You’ve been coming home so often these days. Has hell frozen over…?” Mr. Korn teased Kim, who had just come in with a confused look on his face. Then he turned to greet the man following behind Kim. “Oh, Mek, where did you come from?”
I furrowed my brow when I saw Mek again, feeling a strange aversion to him that I couldn’t explain.
“Hello, Uncle. I ran into Kim, so I asked to come with him to visit you,” Mek said politely, his face revealing nothing.
“Good, good, we can all eat together,” Mr. Korn said. “There’s extra dinner these days, since Kim has been home so often.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Kim said. “If you lose your senses and let Khun inherit everything, our family will fall to ruin.” He laughed and headed straight for the kitchen.
“Come join us for dinner, Mek,” said Mr. Korn.
“I’ll be right there.” Mek stepped aside for Mr. Korn to lead the way. His eyes followed the older man before moving over to me.
“Yes?” I raised my brows in question. Mek was acting like he had a problem with me or something. His smile twitched a little before he offered a hand in greeting.
“I’m Mek,” he said. I looked at him, confused, before offering my hand for him to shake.
“Porsche,” I said calmly. He stared at me for a moment before walking away toward the kitchen.
“What was that?” Pol asked, curious. Everyone watched Mek’s retreating back with the same expression. We stood there in confusion before making our way to the staff cafeteria.
“Why did Mr. Mek try to talk to you?” Arm asked as we ate.
“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s weird. Do you guys know him?”
“I just know he’s called Mek and he’s Mr. Kinn’s friend, but that’s about it,” Arm replied. “We haven’t seen him around for quite a while.”
I sat there and pondered Mek’s actions, but I couldn’t figure anything out. So I let the subject drop and finished eating before returning to my room to shower, take my medicine, and collapse on the bed. I was alone in the room because Chay had gone to play games with the others—he said he didn’t want to disturb me with all the shouting. I let him go, knowing I could trust Pol and Arm with him.
I tossed and turned in the dark for almost an hour. Why wasn’t I tired? I’d tried scrolling on my phone and playing some songs, but still couldn’t fall asleep. Fuck!
Counting the nights in the forest, I’d gotten used to Kinn sleeping next to me for practically the entire week. I could admit that his scent and his touch helped me sleep… No, no, no! Now was the time to harness the hate I’d been holding onto. I needed to remember how much I despised him, how mistrustful I was of him. I was disgusted with myself for letting another guy do those things to me. But at some point, that feeling of hatred and fear had disappeared. So much had happened in such a short time—how could I have forgotten how much I abhorred the bastard?!
My paranoia had turned into a racing heartbeat whenever Kinn came near. Images would come flooding back into my head, but they didn’t make me feel as bad as before. Disgust had been replaced with uncertainty in my heart. How quickly could hate be erased? Would I still feel the same a week from now?
Had I never even hated him to begin with?
Argh! What was wrong with me?!